AA1989

We need to be mindful that being a refugee does not preclude you from being a talented and well trained medical professional in their home country. Someone who forced to flee their country because of persecution, war or violence deserves an equal chance to build a life. Clearly, refugees are often exploited, but regardless of where they come from or their nationality, they need to be trained and competent before performing a HT.

It looks very natural, and it must feel amazing to have hair where you previously had bare scalp. I agree with the comments regarding the lack of yield. We are a critical bunch on here, but given the standards attained by Dr Bruno in his previous presentation, we have high expectations. None of this should detract from your satisfaction of having your face framed by a new natural-looking hairline. With additional density, it would look even better.

You sound pretty wise to the bad side of hair transplants in Turkey. The problem you, I or anybody else going to a Turkish clinic have is, how do we really know what the techs were doing last year? perhaps they were a barber or a taxi driver. I'm pretty sure the clinic will not tell you that. HT's is big business in Turkey. A combination of manipulated reviews and slick marketing produces a steady flow of willing victims😏 There is so much competition that price becomes the deciding factor for many prospective patients. This pushes otherwise reputable clinics to enter the hair mill market aka 'stack'em high sell'em cheap'. A race to the bottom. The lack of official oversight by the authorities means there are little or no consequences for poor results/malpractice. Your head your choice. You're not in a desperate situation with time on your side. Think long and hard before 'rolling the dice'. Unlike many, you know the risks.

A calm head is required at this stage. There is either problem or not, neither of which will be established definitively until later into the development of the HT. The post-procedure photos from the clinic are required ASAP. @JDEE0 Can you PM me next weeks winning lottery numbers🙂

I think you know what you need to do. Buzzing it off and moving on. No scars, no pills, no concealer and fibres (even after a HT, they'll be required to maintain a sub-par illusion of hair). It will feel liberating to put it behind you and focus on qualities that make you stand out. Qualities that you can have control over, rather than the endless pursuit of hair. The buzzed look may add a few years in the short term, but if you stay in good shape and take care of your skin, time will appear to stand still for you while your peers seem to age before your eyes.

That's quite shocking. It must be a combination of slick marketing and cheap prices. I know these clinics come in for stick and rightly so but when price is a the forefront of people's mind, it becomes a race to bottom.

I think nowdays it's considered a pejorative term but back in the 1950's it was probably cutting edge. The term graft is as much to do with distancing themselves from the past. In essence the process has just become more refined & reliable (in skilled hands) allowing for single hairs rather than clumps of hairs to be transplanted.

It's called 'selective bias'. They see what they want to see. There is plenty of negative feedback on these clinics if they choose to be objective. I appreciate some of the well-established members who have had bad experiences in the past but would those same members have made their mistakes in 2022 when there is so much information available at the press of a few buttons? This is no way diminishes tireless help given to people who find this site and get great advice or the visceral pain felt by recipients of a poor HT. I only wish more people would turn off their social media feeds and type 'hair transplant forum' * in their search engine before committing to these clinics. * btw HRN is 3rd in a google search.

Go full hair nerd and get yourself a cheapie USB Microscope off ebay/amazon😊

I'm pleased you went with the electrolysis option. The idea of punching graft in such a prominent and delicate area is a risk I would not take. The other benefit of a staged approach is hairs grow in phases. Punching grafts in one session may miss multi-hair graft waiting to push through. Regarding any repairs - Make NO compromises on getting what YOU want. We all live by our decisions, you made a mistake, but you have options. As a footnote, I'm surprised any board recommended doctor doesn't equip their staff with magnification. It doesn't matter if a tech has been with you 6 years. It is precision work. That's 6 years for their eyesight to deteriorate. While it is good, they acknowledge their failings. They should also follow up with how they intend to prevent it from happening again in the future.

Back 2020 @Zach Black in answer to a question by @JC71 said: https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/57380-recent-transplant-at-hair-dr-clinic-leeds/ @Marko7t4 Was Dr A as equally involved in your procedure?

Indoor lighting tends to be more favourable than outdoors. It looks better short, and on the positive side, no one would suspect you've had a HT. I know you are in dialogue with the clinic, so keep us posted on that and any improvements in density.

Great idea! Name of the show? Steer clear of anything that sounds sales or marketing. Nice and simple 'Hair Restoration Network Podcast' . It keeps it consistent and refers listeners back to the forum. Show format? I would suggest Q&A with a panel of doctors. It would be interesting to hear the different perspectives and may even encourage some discussion between the doc's, which would be very interesting. Source of questions? I would suggest the questions should originate from the board. So often, you have a lively discussion between board members where the view of a professional would really add to the debate. Which questions? Is there a way for members to upvote a selection of questions? The most popular questions are then addressed in the podcast.

Role of PRP? Pay for the Doctor's international vacation/ pension fund😊

@JDEE0 great progress... the latest photos really give a good perspective on how the temples are filling in. Totally agree - most of the time partial shave looks like a dog dinner😁

You're very much in the 'ugly duckling' phase, combine that with the horrible experience, it's bound to take its toll. Even people that have had a great experience with a top surgeon start to feel anxious at this time. Did you check out that guy on YouTube latest update vid? against the odds, it looks pretty good, and he's happy with the result. From week 13 - 17 you should start to see noticeable improvement.

The problem with body hair is the growth cycle is really short compared to head hair. It's the reason body hair is so short ... it's constantly reaching the end of its anagen phase and falling out. It can be done but really no good for your head. How many weeks since your transplant?

Where is the stock coming from to restock the donor?

Part of the problem is doctors chasing the $$$$. When a Dr becomes successful, their services are in high demand. The temptation is to scale the operation, passing the painstaking, meticulous work to 'trained' staff. The further you dilute the involvement of the principle, the less reliable the past record becomes. There are examples of successful, competent doctors becoming little more than figurehead for the clinic and standards plummeting.

Oh the irony.....

To be brutally honest, you rolled the dice and had a bad experience. The good news, at least in the YouTuber I referenced, is he generally pleased with results at 7 months, if not the process of getting there. He paid $2200 got 3000 grafts, his meds, 2 X PRP, hotel and transport and thought he was getting SMP in at that price too. THATS CRAZY CHEAP. I don't know much about the clinic you went to, but even without actively researching them (I wouldn't entertain a hair mill), I do know it has a reputation of rushed consultation, hard sell and overharvesting. You may not want to hear this, but part of the recovery process is accepting responsibility for YOUR choices. It doesn't absolve the clinic of their responsibility, but as the saying goes... 'If looks too good to be true, then probably is!'

When I googled Asli Tarcan a youtube video came out on top by I AM RIO P. (Hair Transplant Experience & Update | Asli Tarcan Hair Clinic | Istanbul, Turkey 26 Oct 2021). I jumped to the consultation, and there was a lot of similarities to your experience, including the infection. Have you seen his channel?

Better be careful the missus doesn't see this with a machete lying around😁

Sorry to hear about your experience. Hopefully, it is of some small comfort that documenting your experience can stop others from ending up in this situation. On a practical note: Most reputable Doctors will have waiting lists, sometimes a year or more. It would be worth doing your research now and getting something booked. The clinics that can book you in at short notice are more likely to be the ones to avoid.

Some of those IG results are 'WOW' Hopefully, @JoeMan you'll be up on the IG hall of fame👍